Wednesday, July 21, 2010

There's a headline you don't see every day.
From Schaeffer's Research:

Traders must be really excited for the premiere of Angelina Jolie's new Russian spy thriller, Salt -- so far today, call volume on the Market Vector Russia ETF Trust (RSX) has ballooned to seven times the expected level, with about 5,600 contracts crossing the tape.OK, so maybe it's not Jolie-related enthusiasm, but it's pretty convenient timing, nevertheless. Traders are concentrating their efforts today at RSX's August 30 call, where 5,211 contracts have traded -- 99% at the ask price, indicating they were purchased. Currently, RSX's August 30 call has just 1,123 contracts outstanding, so it's a safe bet that new positions are being opened at this strike.
Today's uptick in call buying is something of an anomaly for RSX, which sports a Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 2.32. In other words, puts more than double calls among options set to expire within three months. Indeed, the most popular front-month strike is the August 29 put, with 5,708 contracts in residence....MORE